The administration of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, has reiterated its commitment to bequeath in Abia an infrastructurally sound and economically rejuvenated State by the time his tenure expires in 2023.
This was stated in a joint press conference by the Government’s media team made up of the Commissioner for Information, Barrister Eze Chikamnayo, Commissioner for Documentation and Strategic Communications, Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue and the Chief Press Secretary to the Abia Governor, Onyebuchi Ememanka, in Umuahia on Wednesday.
Addressing journalists, the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Eze Chikamnayo, described Ikpeazu as a generational achiever and stated vividly that the administration was focused and nothing can distract it.
He also said that the Governor had done a lot in areas of trade and investment, Small and Medium Enterprise Development with Abia rated as the SME capital of Nigeria.
Chikamnayo disclosed that the present Ikpeazu-led government had constructed more than eighty roads, and further revealed that before the emergence of the current government, roads in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the Abia were in a state of emergency and most businesses were comatose.
He said that the government had been up to date with the payment of counterpart funding which has made it possible for the state to embark on erosion remediation projects and other interventions across the state through NEWMAP.
On his part, the Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor, Onyebuchi Ememanka said that plans have been concluded to reclaim the failed portions of Faulks road, insisting that the road is one of the star projects of the Ikpeazu administration.
Ememanka assured that the technical issues which led to the failure of the project have been identified and will be dealt with once the dry season sets in fully.
According to him, faulks Road was never completed and handed over by the Contractor and noted that because the road was opened for use by the people before the application of the final ashphalt layer known as the wearing course, it accelerated the pressure on the road.
Governor Ikpeazu’s spokesman, noted that work on Port Harcourt road which is a six lane project, is currently ongoing with drainages already completed.
He said, “the strategy is to complete earthworks on the entire road and then get ready for use, as quickly as possible, in the interim, end to end asphalting of one of the lanes to ameliorate the difficulties experienced by road users, and then work on the remaining lanes.”
Ememanka, also described as malicious the claims by Hon. Obinna Ichita of the State House of Assembly that the State Government had fully accessed 56 Million dollars from the World Bank for the Ndiegoro Project and challenged him to provide any proof thereof.
On the ongoing construction of Osisioma flyover, he said 85% of the project has been achieved and that workers will return to site next week, disclosing that what was remaining is basically stone basing and asphalting.
Ememanka also stressed that until the Federal Government contractors handling the rehabilitation of the Enugu – PH highway complete that portion of the project, the flyover cannot be put to use, because the flyover and the entire interchange must align with the ongoing works on the Federal road.
He, however, assured that the flyover project will be delivered and used during the life of the Ikpeazu administration.
On his part, the State Commissioner for Documentation and Strategic Communications, Mr Ugochukwu Emezue, noted that Governor Ikpeazu few days ago, led a team to South Africa for the signing of the 50m dollars Power project between AFRIXIM Bank and Geometric Power to fund the operationalization of the Aba Independent Power Project, as well as to personally sign an agreement between the State Government and the Nigeria Export Promotion Council for the building of Export Expansion Program Resource Center in Aba.
“This agreement will give Abia State the platform to benefit hundreds of Naira from the Presidential Economic Recovery and Growth Program”, he disclosed.
Emezue said apart from building roads, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu had also invested a lot in human capital development, pointing out that human capital development was critical to development of any society.
